10 Best Alternative Rock Bands Of The 1980s
6. The Replacements
Around the start of the '80s, the golden age of punk seemed to die a pretty ugly death. Though you did have people like Clash still flying the flag, people like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were either broken up or about to go through some of the rougher patches in their discography. If the true punks can't last forever, the genre has to change, and the Replacements took it that much further.
Coming out of the Midwest around the time acts like Husker Du were making waves, Paul Westerberg's band of drunks made some of the most endearing alternative music that had been seen thus far. Since this was a genre that was still finding its feet, going through the band's back catalog is like seeing the genre come into its own, going from their hardcore punk debut to embracing melody on albums like Hootenanny and Let It Be.
Even though albums like Tim or Pleased To Meet Me may not have flown off the shelves back in their time, they hold up as classics of the '80s as well, from songs that hit you over the head to the slowburns that could slowly eat away at your heart. These guys were never trying to be the greatest band in the world or anything, but somewhere along the line they found themselves on the classic side of history.